Dickson criticizes city officials as election draws near

MATTHEW HUISMAN

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, April 27, 2009

A dozen Humble residents showed up April 23 at Humble City Café for a Rick Dickson rally. At the rally, Dickson presented a PowerPoint slide show highlighting what he called “a lack of will” on the part of city officials.

“I don’t think the city is taking us in the right direction,” Dickson said.

The hour-and-a-half presentation convinced some undecided voters and solidified the views of others.

Art DeLeon has lived in Humble for 10 years and showed up at the rally to hear Dickson speak.

Before the rally, DeLeon was still undecided who he would vote for. After the meeting, however, he said he was supporting Dickson.

“Everything he talks about is for the common good,” DeLeon said. “I see some good things coming.”

The issue that DeLeon said he liked the most was Dickson’s appeal for an open forum, one of the mayoral challenger’s top issues.

Dickson said the city was making it difficult for citizens to voice their opinion at city council meetings.

Current Mayor Donnie McMannes disagrees.

“Our city is open to all citizens,” McMannes said. “Anybody that wants to come speak to the council is welcome to.”

The mayor said that for the sake of organization and to disseminate the agenda to the public, people wishing to voice their opinion must sign up with the city secretary at least 72 hours in advance.

“Any organization, homeowners association or individual person can call the city secretary and request to speak on the agenda,” McMannes said.

Another point made by Dickson was concerning the residents who are in close proximity to Bush Intercontinental Airport flight paths. Dickson accused the city of not moving on grants through the Federal Aviation Administration to buy out or soundproof homes near the airport. Dickson said this matter concerns the whole city because it would mean diminished home values and ultimately a lower budget.

“The city budget depends on the value of these homes,” Dickson said.

To exemplify his point, Dickson compared the market value of his home to the appraised value. For 2009, the market value of Dickson’s home in North Hollow is $196,848 but is appraised at $104,617.

As for the allegations that the city has not acted to secure FAA funds, McMannes said they were simply untrue.

“I’ve met with the airport, the FAA and Congressman Ted Poe countless times,” McMannes said. “I’ve written to FAA that we have three runways over Humble and told them that we don’t want any over Humble.”

Lastly, Dickson highlighted the traffic congestion in Humble and proposed hiring a consultant to perform a traffic engineering study on Humble to pinpoint intersections for right turn lanes and expanded roadways.

“The city has been derelict in their ability to secure funding for roadways,” Dickson said.

He used Will Clayton Parkway, which backs up to U.S. Highway 59 during the evening commute, and Wilson Road as examples where expansion and right turn lanes would increase the flow of traffic.

As for the consultant, McMannes said it was a waste of taxpayer money.

“Anybody that has to depend on consultants to tell you that traffic is bad would be wasting a half-million dollars,” McMannes said. “I wouldn’t waste the city’s money on that. Nobody has done any more road projects in Humble than me.”

The mayor pointed out that there exists an interlocal agreement between the city of Humble and Harris County for the expansion of Will Clayton.

“We are addressing all the streets in Humble,” McMannes said. “Everything I do is public and on record.